Sgt. Craig M. Schultz stopped in at the Ohio Cat headquarters in Broadview Heights, OH, recently on his Drive Against Diabetes, which will take him from New York City to Los Angeles.
Schultz is headed cross-country to raise awareness of Juvenile Onset (type 1) diabetes, which compromised the health of his late father. Schultz is driving a Caterpillar 236 skid steer donated by Cat and Syracuse Supply Company, a Syracuse, NY-based Cat dealer. At a top speed of 12 mph, Schultz hopes to complete his journey Nov. 14.
According to Schultz, a New York State corrections officer, since starting the trip Sept.1, the Cat skid steer has run like a champ. Schultz arrived to cheers from Ohio Cat employees and was presented with a $450 check from Ken Taylor, president of Ohio Cat.
Ohio Cat supplies equipment ranging from skid steers like the one driven by Schultz to DLs for work in mines.
In presenting the check, Taylor was assisted by 3-year-old Kennedy Matty, great niece of Pat Divitto, who works in Ohio Cat’s accounting department. The girl was diagnosed with diabetes at age 2. The money will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, for whom Schultz is raising funds.
Ohio Cat employees passed the hat to collect individual donations, as well. Schultz said that whether its $5 or $100, every little bit helps.
For more information or to donate, call 866/4DAD-DON8.
While some may question why he would attempt such an undertaking, Schultz said it is worth it when he sees faces like Kennedy’s and realizes he is helping to make a difference. Schultz’s father was an insulin-dependent diabetic who died in 1998 at age 61.
